Hogwarts Hold 'Em
by MiraStelloc
Summary: Meet the unconventional poker gang at Hogwarts, made up of a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin. Love, Angst, Romance, Drama, Voldemort, Poker, AND candy: did I mention karma?; Harry/OC; Ron/OC/Seamus; Ron/OC/Draco; Oliver/OC/Cedric
1. Meet the Gang

**AUTHORS' NOTE: This story is Co-written by KyleenaCloud1790, PyroQueenOfFire, and myself. A special thanks to Rosemary Stevens who wrote the book series that's mentioned. Also, This is your Language and theme warning. There's a reason this fic is rated 'M':**

*****

"I swear Tyler, you fucking cheat!" Charlotte cried.

"Coco, some of us are impressionable youth." Rae reprimanded her.

"This is the twelfth fucking game **in a row** I've lost and he's won!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Some of us are just born lucky." Tyler smirked as he raked in the pile of skittles, shockers, sweetarts, and the big money: 100 grands.

"Yeah, and some of us are cheaters." Leena muttered. "Give me back my 100 grand!"

Tyler gave them all looks. "Hey! I won this all fair and square! If anyone's cheating, it's _you_ three!"

"How? When we're losing?" Rae asked.

Tyler shrugged. "Care for another game?"

"We're all practically out of candy, you moron." Leena scoffed.

"Gay men can't play poker!" Charlotte exclaimed

"Number one, I'm not gay, and number two, who says gay men can't play poker? Where's that written?"

"Well duh, it's unwritten. Everyone knows that. You're supposed to sit back and let the real men clean you out!" Charlotte told him.

"In case you guys haven't noticed…you're all chicks."

"I'm more of a real man then you'll ever be Mr. Flaming Homo." Charlotte muttered.

"Guys, keep it down! I hear Filch. He's in the hallway." Rae whispered.

"How can you be sure it's him?" Leena asked in a hushed whispered.

"He's muttering about whipping people." Rae rolled her eyes.

"Yup. That's Filch." They all mumbled in unison, laughing.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to keep the rest of my candy…and if it wasn't for me living in the muggle world with my mother, none of you would've ever tasted any of these." Rae said.

"I wanted to clean you guys out of all your candy." Tyler frowned.

Charlotte jumped at him, and the two of them got into a hair pulling contest.

"Tyler, are you sure you're not gay? You fight like a girl." Leena pointed out, but then joined Charlotte in fighting him.

"Quick, Rae! Collect the candy in your bag!" They cried. "We'll hold him off!"

Rae grinned and she stuck her bag up to the table, and swept all the candy into it.

Tyler screamed.

"No, that's mine! I won it!"

"RUN RAE! RUN!" They cried. "He's getting loose!"

Rae burst out of the room of requirement running as fast as she could as Tyler pelted out almost immediately, Charlotte and Leena right behind him trying to trip him up. Rae turned a corner, tripped, skidded down the hall and ran right into Professor Dumbledore. Tyler, Charlotte, and Leena turned the corner, and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore." All four said in unison, as Rae picked herself up off the floor.

"What are a Gryffindor, A Hufflepuff, A Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin doing out, together, after curfew?" He asked coolly.

Charlotte walked forward and helped Rae brush herself off. "We were just engaging in a little poker?" She asked tentatively.

"As the daughter of the minister, you should know better."

"I know, but they're my friends. After curfew is the only time we can really hang out together, without interference."

"I suggest you return to your house dormitories, and go to sleep."

"Yes, Professor." Tyler said, walking up and trying to tug Rae's book bag of candy off of her shoulder.

"Tyler, let go of my bag before I kick you in the shin." She muttered low enough, she hoped, that Professor Dumbledore's retreating figure couldn't hear.

"But those are my winnings." He whined.

"If you care to remember, I spent thirty dollars on this candy, which I could have used to buy all four and the Beau Brummell books I love. We'll all share this candy gradually, okay?"

Tyler nodded reluctantly.

"Atta boy, Mr. Flaming Homo." Charlotte clapped him on the back.

"I hate you." He muttered.

"No you don't. You love us." Leena retorted.

Tyler laughed. "You're right. I do."

*****

"_Okay everyone, ante up or I'm not dealing to your sorry asses." Thirteen year old Charlotte Fudge said, looking like a card shark in a black visor and sunglasses._

_Twelve year old Rae Lands, who was big blinds, tossed in two skittles, followed by the small blinds, twelve year old Tyler Matthews, who tossed in one._

"_Leena stop eating your money." Tyler commanded._

"_I'm sorry! It's just so tasty!" An eleven year old Leena Trask cried._

"_Are you seriously telling us you've never had this stuff before?" Rae asked and Leena nodded. "Man, where are you from? I'll have to remember to bring some on the side next time for us all to snack on…though it'll give us a doozie of a stomachache if we eat too much."_

"_Newest juicy tidbit…Parentage." Tyler said, grinning mischievously._

"_I don't understand" Leena said, her mouth full of a 100 grand._

"_Every round we share a fun tidbit about ourselves. Everything from favorite stuffed animal to apparently—" Charlotte sneered. "—Parentage. I'm not going first. Screw you Tyler. I hate my dad."_

_Everyone looked at Rae._

"_I learned to never go first in anything. Why don't you go first Tyler, since you brought it up?" Rae asked innocently._

_Tyler shrugged._

"_I'm a pureblood. Born and raised in the Wizarding world. My father works in the Department of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, and my mother's a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." Tyler stated proudly._

_Charlotte nodded appreciatively. "At least you know both your parents. My Dad is the minister of magic, and my muggle mother died in childbirth. I never knew her."_

_Rae patted Charlotte's arm. "I'm in a similar boat. I never knew my wizard Father. I live in the muggle world, with my muggle mother who's a helluva lawyer."_

"_You're dad is dead too?" Leena looked like she was going to cry._

_Rae raised her eyebrows. "When did I say that? He's in prison. He basically knocked my mom up and got shipped off to Azkaban."_

"_At least your parents wanted you. My mom got me as a business deal. I wish she'd have taken me with her." Charlotte sighed._

"_But then you wouldn't be here with us." Tyler reasoned._

_Charlotte shrugged. "So Leena, what about your parents?"_

"_I think my parents are dead. I'm not sure." She mumbled._

"_How can you not be sure?" Tyler asked._

"_I'm adopted. All I know is that my parents were muggle. I've never had any contact with my biological parents, so I don't know what happened to them."_

_They all shared a consoling group hug, and started playing poker, Tyler slapping Leena's hand every time she tried to eat a piece of her candy._

"_Seriously Leena, stop it. You're going to make yourself sick __**and**__ short-stacked." He told her._


	2. Secrets Revealed

**AUTHORS' NOTE:**

**Just a warning that there is a man/man couple, so if that freaks you out, then don't keep reading.**

**In fact the man/man couple starts us off.**

**Don't worry—nothing too graphic, but this **_**is**_** your language and themes warning.**

*****

"_I think the flaming homo has something to say." Charlotte said lovingly, and rested her hand on Tyler's. "You can tell us anything, you know that, right?"_

_Tyler nodded and looked at the faces of his best girl friends. "I know that guys, it's just hard to get it all to come out, all right?"_

_Charlotte squeezed his hand and Rae and Leena came over to hug him. "Come on, sweetheart, you can do this. Why are you so nervous anyway?"_

"_Cause I'm gay, Coco! All right?!" Tyler asked them exasperatedly._

_The three girls stared at him for a minute and then smiled at him and gave him big hugs, which made him raise an eyebrow. Honestly he had been expecting a little more of a nervous reaction, or like at least an, 'are you sure?' But no…no the three of them were being affectionate and understanding and he was really rather grateful._

"_Ty, we already knew that." Rae told him with a smile._

_Leena nodded. "Yeah, Ty…it was kind of obvious."_

"_Why do you think I so affectionately call you 'Mr. Flaming Homo'?" Charlotte asked with a small laugh. "You do know that I mean it to be endearing, right?"_

"_I guess I do now." Tyler told her, hugging them all back. "Well…thank you guys…I really appreciate the support."_

Tyler had a large grin on his face when he turned over that morning, his dream playing over and over in his head as he began to wake up. If only that was how things would really play out for him when he admitted it to everyone he knew that he was in love with a fellow male. In fact, Tyler wished that the Gryffindors wouldn't look at him differently when he told them he was into men…when his boyfriend who was a fellow Gryffindor came out to the public with him. Actually thinking about his boyfriend, Tyler checked what time it was and got up to get dressed in his robes before his classes that day.

It was in fact rather early in the morning—before seven—and Tyler was already practically wide awake and ready to learn. That was normal for Tyler in all reality: he was used to sneaking around and keeping secrets. He really didn't want to come clean to anyone…not until he felt like everyone would handle it better than he was sure they'd handle it now. His relationship was new and it was fun, and Tyler wasn't ready to give up the excitement of it, and he wasn't ready to be judged and have it ruin everything he was feeling.

After pulling on some socks, shoes and his tie, he looked over at his boyfriend and received a smile and a nod. It was part of their little routine to make sure the other was up and then one went down before the other did and they met up to cuddle and converse. So since Tyler was already dressed, he headed downstairs to sit down in front of the fire, waiting patiently to be joined by the boy who understood him. The second Tyler heard his boyfriend on the stairs, he smiled a little, but waited to make sure it was him before he turned around and gave it all away.

"Ty?" Harry asked affectionately.

Tyler's whole face lit up and the thirteen year-old reached out for the other thirteen year-old's hand. Harry blushed but grasped Tyler's hand back, both of them smiling at each other and wishing that being gay was easier to talk about than it was…especially with Harry's hero status, and Tyler's homophobic mother. Even though he knew his friends would love him no matter what, Tyler was still a little unnerved about what telling them would be like—considering Charlotte had just been sooooo sure that he was gay from the minute the two shook hands. Was he _that_ transparent, really?

"You okay, Ty?" Harry asked him, leaning his head on Tyler's shoulder and looking up at him fondly.

Tyler dipped his head and smiled at Harry. "I'm just trying to figure out what we're going to do. I mean someday I want people to know but right now, I just…"

Harry nodded and sat up straight, reaching out and stroking Tyler's cheek. "Its fine, Ty, I don't mind that you haven't told anyone yet, and I'm waiting until you're ready. Anyway, do you really think that Ron and Hermione are going to be all right with it?"

Tyler leaned forward and pressed his lips to Harry's, running his fingers through the raven locks and smiling a little. Harry was the only person who knew every little secret that Tyler had, and he felt comfortable around him. He knew that he shouldn't be worried about what others would think about their relationship, but he was a thirteen year-old boy and he very much needed to feel accepted. So for now, he and Harry were going to kiss and cuddle like this in private, and for now this was all they needed.

"Harry?" Ron asked groggily from the top of the stairs.

Tyler sighed as Harry pulled his lips away, but nodded in acceptance of it as Harry placed a quick 'sorry' kiss to his lips and then they both turned their attention to Ron. Ron rubbed his eyes and came down the winding stairs, looking at both of them—both of them now sitting away from each other—and then looked directly at Harry. He had another one of his weird dreams and he'd needed Harry to talk to, but Harry certainly hadn't been there for him. In fact Ron was starting to wonder why when he woke up in the middle of the night, or exceedingly early, Harry and Tyler were always the only two up and about.

"I need to get ready for class." Tyler said in the awkward silence. "Thanks for the chat, Harry."

Harry nodded and watched Tyler leave the common room, wishing the two of them could just be honest.

*****

Leena walked into the common room that morning.

"Éowyn has a letter for you." Luna said, in her dreamlike voice from her perch on the dorm couch.

"Do you know who it's from?" Leena asked as she walked over.

"I don't know. I didn't open it." Luna replied absently petting Éowyn.

Leena took the letter from Éowyn, opening it slowly. She rolled her eyes and tossed the letter into the happily crackling fire.

"Who was it from?" Luna asked looking up at her.

Leena sighed. "Droca." She plopped down next to Luna on the couch.

"You mean Draco?"

Leena looked up. "Didn't I say that?"

Luna laughed and shook her head. "You said Droca. But anyways, what did he say?"

"He said 'I hate you'."

"Why didn't he just tell you to your face?" Luna asked.

"Trust me; I wish I knew…but it might have something to do with what happened when he actually did." Leena smiled at the memory.

"What happened…or should I say, what did you do?"

"I beat the crap out of him." Leena replied. "I need to go. I'll see you at breakfast."

Luna smiled. "Okay."

She turned her attention back to the quibbler that was on her lap, and turned it upside down to start marking her answers. Leena laughed, and headed out of the common room to meet up with her brother.

"Hey Blaise." She said.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" Blaise asked.

"I'm okay I guess. It's really hard to constantly be around girls that can't stop talking about you."

"What do they say about me?"

"Why do I talk to you?"

"Because I'm you're brother and you love me."

"Yeah, sure…whatever helps you sleep better at night." She joked, punching his arm playfully.

"Are you really okay? I don't want to see you in the hospital again."

"You'll be the first to know if anything happens to me." Leena smiled and gave her adoptive brother a hug.

"So what do the girls say about me?"

"And we're back there. They can't stop talking about how attractive they think you are."

"Who thinks that?"

"I can't tell you. I want you to avoid talking to them; otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

"But how can I avoid them, if I don't know who they are?"

"Oh no, don't you try and use any twisted brother logic on me."

"What if I promised to not confront them about it?"

"No good. Then I'd tell you and you'd do it anyways."

Blaise sighed, but smiled. "I've got to go. Stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Yes daddy." Leena laughed as she left to join up with Rae and possibly Coco.

*****

Charlotte smiled as Oliver ran his fingers through her hair and then she pulled her lips away from his and made a face and he sighed. This was really all he and Charlotte ever got to do and he was in need of something to keep his mind off of how random and hectic this year was turning out to be. He could have started Quidditch practice at dawn that day instead of making-out with one of the members of the Quidditch team of the house he was going to try and crush on Saturday. However, when he had gotten her owl, he had been more than happy to let his team sleep in to spend time with her when he hadn't seen her in a few weeks.

Because her father was the head of the Ministry of Magic, their relationship was kept a secret from the rest of the world, and they were both pretty okay with that. Seeing as how they both led pretty hectic lives the majority of the time, it was nice to occasionally wind down and see how the other was doing. Besides, Oliver would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous of the time that Charlotte and Cedric spent together all the time—even if on Charlotte's side they were both strictly best friends. The oddest thing about Charlotte Fudge was not that she was the minister's eccentric daughter…it was that she was a Slytherin who didn't like to spend her time with other Slytherins except Macey Lucas.

Macey was the only Slytherin that Charlotte could even stand, and though Oliver didn't actually like Macey in the slightest because of her haughty attitude and the way that she stuck her pointed nose up in the air and had her black hair always pulled up in a high ponytail to enhance her pureblood stature. In fact Oliver was always trying to figure out why Snape's lovechild was trying so hard to be friends with a half blood, but oh well, Oliver didn't really care. All Oliver really cared about right that moment was kissing his secret girlfriend again, and she seemed to have other things on her mind.

"Before we go ahead with this, I think there's something else you and I should discuss Oli." Charlotte told him, running her fingers over his hair and smiling at him. "I mean you're not going to like it so I wish that I was just keeping my mouth shut and pressed to yours but I mean come on, Oli…if you expect to win on Saturday, you need to train your chasers a little bit more."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Says the girl with the chasers on her team that can't see three feet in front of them."

Charlotte scoffed. "Oh please—Slytherin kicks ass."

"Except for Gryffindor ass, Char." Oliver reminded her and kissed her when she opened her mouth again to protest.

She knew it was a little awkward seeing as she was fourteen and Oliver was seventeen, but the two of them were rather content with each other. Charlotte had latched right onto him pretty much when she'd gotten to Hogwarts, and at first he was intimidated by the Slytherin with the powerful Ministry father, but soon he grew to hate her, and in turn, adore her more than anything. When he found out she was the best player on the Slytherin Quidditch Team their rivalry started, but then that fateful day at the beginning of this year had cemented their relationship.

"Low blow, Oli…low blow." Charlotte told him and then she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "What I _really_ needed to tell you was that…well…you see…well basically you guys are playing Hufflepuff this time and _not_ Slytherin."

Oliver's eyes went wide. "What?!"

Charlotte knew he wasn't going to take it well, but she really didn't expect him to take it the way that he was taking it right then. Oliver let go of her and then he took a deep breath and Charlotte knew that her sexy Quidditch Captain was about to rant. He only ranted when he was really riled up, and he needed desperately to get out all of his frustration and since she was really his only Slytherin competition now that he had Harry, she was the one to vent to. Charlotte was going to let him rant too—she thought he was rather sexy when he ranted.

"You tell me _now_?! _Now_?!" Oliver asked her angrily. "The game is in two _days_ and you choose to tell me this _now_?! We've been practicing to beat _Slytherin_ and our last practice was last night!"

Charlotte nodded. "Yes, I'm very aware, but—"

"—and now we have to go up against _Hufflepuff_ with _no_ practice?! This is pretty much unacceptable and incredibly inconvenient! Just _when_ was Flint going to come and tell me this?!" Oliver asked loudly.

"Stop yelling at me!" Charlotte shot back at him. "Draco has been milking his imaginary wound on his fucking arm, and so Flint decided to be a dick! Do you really think that _I_ wanted to not do this game?! I _love_ Quidditch and you _know_ it! So why don't you get off you high horse and stop yelling at me, you hot Scottish ass and kiss me again!"

Oliver was stunned by her yelling back, but oddly turned on. Still, it was such a Slytherin thing to do and he had hoped that Charlotte would have had more decency than this to let him know what was going on. At the same time, her eyes were twinkling at him and he wanted to kiss her again, but he couldn't cave that easy and they both knew it. He was Oliver Wood, and he was determined to get the last word in this argument.

"No." He told her firmly, but they both knew by his tone that he wanted to.

Charlotte shot daggers at him. "Do you know who my father is, Oliver Wood?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes, Charlotte Fudge, I do."

"Then you know that in order to get onto the Puddlemere United Professional Quidditch Team you need his approval, right?" Charlotte asked him.

"You are kind of definitely a Slytherin." Oliver told her with a slight smirk. "And…I kind of like it because I know you'd actually never blackmail me."

Charlotte grinned and shrugged, smiling as Oliver's lips returned to hers and then she pushed him off a little and he grunted. Neither of them wanted to stop but Charlotte needed to talk to Cedric about how he was going to have to play Gryffindor. Her morning was full of things she wanted and things she was obliged to do, and there was only so much that she could take. So with one more kiss, she was off on her way, Oliver smiling after his girlfriend and then heading to tell the rest of the team the new news.

*****

Rae stumbled down the stairs to the girl's dormitories, incredibly groggy at about eight am, eating one of the 100 grands that had been stolen from Tyler the night before. She almost joined Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones in the common room but heard the two of them talking in hushed whispers.

"Did you hear?" Hannah asked.

"That Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban?" Susan replied. "It's all anyone can talk about."

"But how did he do it? I mean it's never been accomplished before."

"No one knows! That's why they have to catch him."

Rae felt all the blood draining from her face. Sirius Black, a homicidal maniac, had escaped Azkaban. **Her father** had escaped prison. She slipped down the stairs and fell flat on her face at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ow." She muttered.

Hannah and Susan were at her side immediately helping her up.

"That looked painful!" Susan cried.

"Are you okay?" Hannah asked.

"I'm totally fine. Just a few bruises; nothing new."

"What happened?" They asked in unison.

"Oh I just lost my footing. So what were you guys talking about?"

"How Sirius Black escaped Azkaban. I mean No one has ever gotten past the Dementors before." Hannah told her.

"Yeah. They usually rob you of yourself. You become an empty shell of what you once were. But there's one thing I don't understand." Rae said.

"One thing?" Susan raised an eyebrow.

"Why'd he choose now of all times to escape? I mean he must have had the means to do it before, right?"

Susan and Hannah nodded, worried about Rae. She smiled. It felt good to have friends like them…even if no one besides probably Cornelius Fudge and Dumbledore even knew who her father was.

"I need to go write a letter to my mom. I generally check in before now." With one final grin, Rae went up to get dressed so she could go to the Owlery.

She carefully walked down the stairs this time, so as not to trip, and heard quite a commotion outside the portrait. She stopped to listen.

"Do you know who my father is? Let me in! You let me in right now!"

"What the Hell?" Rae asked and walked over to open the portrait hole. "Coco, what the Hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see Cedric, but the stupid badger won't let me in!"

"Of course he won't you're a Slytherin who doesn't know the password. Why didn't you send him an owl?"

"I didn't want to be too conspicuous."

"Let me go get him for you…Wait out here and stop pestering the badger."

Shaking her head, Rae went up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, even though she wasn't supposed to go up there, but was able because the stairs didn't turn into a giant slide. Rae walked into the dorms for the sixth year boys, and went to go find her fellow Quidditch player.

"Cedric." She said shaking him. "Wake the Hell up, and get your ass downstairs."

"We don't have Quidditch practice today. I know. I'm the captain."

"Coco's waiting outside for you."

"Who's Coco?" He mumbled turning over.

"Shit. Charlotte."

"Why are you swearing so much all of a sudden?"

"No reason. Get off my back, and get up. Don't make me hurt you."

"I can't go out in my Pajamas."

"Sure you can. I'm not going to leave, because knowing you, you'll go back to sleep. Now get your butt downstairs."

When Cedric followed her out of the portrait, they spilt, him talking to Charlotte, and her heading to the Owlery.

"Traer, come here baby." Rae said and a pitch black owl flew down from the rafters to her. "Good girl, Traer. I have a letter for you to take home to my mom okay? I now know why I almost didn't come to school this year and why there are Dementors at the school. I need to work on my short attention span."

Rae attached to letter to Traer's foot, and watched her soar.

*****


	3. Glimpses

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry this took so long; we lost parts of the chapter and I just came in and realized that this was the completed version and that I could post it. The other two should have it up eventually, so until then…you'll have to make do with me. In this chapter, we get some secrets revealed to you, the reader. This **_**is**_** your language and themes warning. ENJOY!**

**Pyro, Mira, and Kyleena**

**xxxxx**

Rae was walking down the hallway with Hannah, Susan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Ernie MacMillan on their way to Transfigurations. The five of them were in a deep enough conversation, that she didn't hear someone calling her name.

"RAE!"

She turned to see Cedric Diggory running up to her, Zacharias Smith just behind him. Rae grimaced; something must be wrong.

"What's up?" She asked, waving the other four to go on in without her.

"We're playing Gryffindor in two days!" Cedric cried when he'd caught his breath.

Rae stuck her finger in her ear, as if to clean it. "I'm sorry, come again?"

"You heard him!" Zacharias huffed.

After giving Zacharias a quick kick in the shin, Rae turned back to Cedric.

"Have you booked the field for practice yet, Mr. Almighty Captain?" Rae asked, mocking him with those last three words. "You know Oliver will want to practice moves to beat us considering they've been preparing for Slytherin, and we haven't practiced at all yet because we weren't supposed to play the first match? I mean, seriously Cedric that guy lives, eats, and breathes Quidditch."

As Zacharias moved past her into the classroom, Rae stuck out her foot so that he face-planted on the hard floor. She giggled.

"Rae this is serious! I think you need to pretend you're sick so we can all have a practice right now." Cedric told her.

"Number one, I love this class, so no. And number two, I have Potions next and can you imagine what Snape will say?" Rae scrunched up her face in an imitation or Professor Snape. "If Miss Lands is not well enough to attend my class, perhaps it would be best for her not to play in the upcoming match." She drawled. "Then, on top of practicing, you'll have to find a replacement beater."

"You're right. I'll just go book the Quidditch Pitch, and everything will be fine."

Rae burst out laughing. "Cedric, our chasers suck, especially against Oliver. It's basically all on you. No pressure or anything. See you at lunch!"

When she waved goodbye and entered the classroom, she realized that it was with the Gryffindors. Rae walked up to the table which Tyler occupied all by himself, and slung her bag into the chair next to him.

"Morning, Ty. Long time no see. What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, homework, studying, eating…and preparing for Gryffindor's defeat of Hufflepuff!"

"You knew?" Rae gasped in horror.

"Harry just told me."

"I hate you." She turned in her seat to face Harry and Ron's table. "You too, Harry. By the way, I will crush you. Beware the bludgers, Harry. Beware."

"Fred said that Hufflepuff was a pushover."

"Oh! Hi Ron!" Rae said brightening up momentarily, but then realized what Ron had said. "Thanks so much for telling me! Now I have a bludger with his name on it." She growled darkly, her eyes narrowing.

"Good morning class."

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall." They all said in unison.

"Today, we'll be transforming creatures into wart goblets as a bit of review."

Tyler smiled, and pulled a furry rat from his pocket, as did Ron. Tyler stroked the rat fondly.

"You know, sometimes I miss those two days when she was a toad." He mumbled.

"I still can't believe you went crying to Hermione about it."

"I didn't go crying to Hermione. _She_ found_ me_ crying about it in the common room and reversed it for me."

"_Hey Tyler, can I borrow ToeBoar for a minute?" An eleven year old Rae asked._

_Eleven year old Tyler held his precious animal to him. Rae tapped her foot impatiently._

"_Why?" he asked protectively._

"_I just found this Transfigurations spell I'd like to try out, and ToeBoar's right here."_

"_It won't hurt her will it?"_

"_She won't feel a thing." Rae reassured him sticking out her hand._

_Tyler gently placed his rat into Rae's outstretched left hand._

"_Relicto." Rae said, pointing her wand at the chubby creature._

_The rat immediately began to change. Her fur fell off and her skin inflated a little and then turned green, bumpy, and slimy to the touch. There were even webs between ToeBoar's toes. As Rae grinned, Tyler let out an ear-piercing scream._

"_Undo it!" He cried when ToeBoar let out a croak._

"_I don't know how to. So that's what that spell does." Rae nodded appreciatively._

"_You tested a spell on my baby without knowing what it does?" Tyler cried, snatching the toad from Rae's hands._

"_Like I was going to test it on Traer!" Rae called after Tyler as he left the room in a huff._

_Two weeks after what Tyler later referred to as 'The Incident' passed, he decided that he could talk to Rae again. They hadn't spoken since that night, but at their monthly poker game, he finally broke his silence._

"_Rae, I suppose I forgive you for turning ToeBoar into a toad."_

"_It speaks!" Rae teased. "What changed your mind?"_

"_A couple days after 'The Incident' Hermione turned her back for me."_

"_Wait, Rae turned ToeBoar into a toad?" Twelve year old Charlotte asked._

_The two of them turned to her and nodded. She clapped Rae on the back._

"_Way to go!" she said._

_Rae smiled and Tyler gaped at her._

"_I hate you." He said._

"_No you don't, Mr. Flaming Homo. You love me."_

"I always wondered why you did it." Tyler told her.

"ToeBoar was a name better suited for a toad…because with toads you can't tell gender. It's not a nice name for a girl. Leena and I aren't going to let you name your children, just so you know."

"I don't think that's a very good reason."

"If you miss when she was a toad sooo much, I could always turn her back." Rae grinned mischievously.

Tyler clutched ToeBoar to his chest. "NO! I'LL KILL YOU!"

As Rae giggled uncontrollably, Professor McGonagall shot the two of them a look, as neither one of them had even started. Rae ducked her head, and pulled out her wand to begin the lesson.

xxxxx

Charlotte very _slowly_ packed up her things and looked at Professor Lupin with a large grin on her face as Macey laughed a little and rolled her eyes. She knew all about Charlotte's obsession with their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and so she scooped up her books and winked at her.

"Have a good 'chat' with him and don't forget to tell me _every_ detail—and remember that Cedric waits for you after class." Macey added, motioning her head to the door. "Why are you friends with him again?"

"Just leave." Charlotte whispered to her and then straightened out her robes and 'accidentally' knocked her books onto the floor with a loud clatter. "Whoopsie."

Professor Lupin looked over at Charlotte and smiled. "Is something wrong, Miss Fudge?"

"Oh please, don't call me that." Charlotte said, making a face. "You can just call me Charlotte."

Professor Lupin smiled a little and shook his head. "That would not be professional."

"Who needs professionalism?" Charlotte asked him with a smile and shrug.

Professor Lupin nodded at her and then he went to look over some parchments he needed to grade and Charlotte came over to him and got up close, breathing in his scent. It made him a little bit uncomfortable, and it reminded Charlotte a little of her past with her father.

"_Charlotte! What are you doing?" Cornelius exclaimed._

_A ten year-old Charlotte leaned away from the attractive wizard and shrugged. "I just smelled him, Daddy."_

"_Get away from him!" Cornelius said, taking his daughter by the arm and sending the wizard an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about her, Kingsley—I'll keep a better eye on her next time."_

"_Oh God, Daddy, have a cow! I was __**smelling**__ him! It's not like I grabbed his ass or anything!" Charlotte protested._

_Cornelius whirled on his daughter. "You watch your mouth, Young Lady or I'm taking away your allowance!"_

_Charlotte gasped and then put her angry face into effect and shook her father off of her arm. Ever since she had been born, she had been a pain in his side, but it was mainly because she wanted to know her mother and her mother wasn't around. Besides, Cornelius never really took an interest in Charlotte or in what she did unless it was ruining or improving his image. So needless to say, the acting out ten-year-old was more than happy to get away with what she __**could**__ get away with, and then she'd act like his perfect daughter just to stay on his good side and get all the perks._

"_Charlotte, don't you just walk away from me!" Cornelius told her. "I can__**not**__ handle this today, Young Lady!"_

"_I'm going to your office to sit in a corner!" Charlotte yelled back at him. "That way I can't even smell anyone for the rest of the day! Are you happy now?"_

_Cornelius rubbed his temples. "Clarissa, I really wish you were here right now."_

"Are you…_smelling_ me?" Professor Lupin asked the Fourth Year.

Charlotte smiled up at him. "Do you _want_ me to be smelling you?"

"Not particularly." Professor Lupin replied and cleared his throat as he took a step back. "Flirting with your professors is not acceptable behavior, Miss Fudge."

"Oh R.J." Charlotte said, waving it off and smiling at him. "Do you mind if I call you R.J.?"

Professor Lupin cleared his throat again. "It would really be more appropriate if you addressed me as 'Professor'."

"All right, R.J., look…I like you, and I'm going to flirt with you and you don't have to be all coy about it, but I'll give you some time to think on it…see you in class tomorrow." Charlotte said, and blew the stunned teacher a kiss before she headed out of his classroom and ran straight into Cedric.

Actually, sometimes it seemed to Charlotte that all she did was flirt with her teachers, run around with her secret boyfriend…and run into Cedric. Then again there was always the monthly poker night, but right now she had upset Cedric's books. She bent down to help him pick them up and then gave him a 'what' face when he sent her a look.

"Why are you _always_ late coming out of _this_ class?" Cedric asked her.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I'm late coming out of all sorts of classes, Ceddy."

"Oh yeah? First Year: Defense Against the Dark Arts." He told her, standing up and intensifying the look as she straightened out her robes and nodded.

"Lancaster used to hit on me." Charlotte said smiling. "I miss him…too bad about that dragon mishap."

"Second Year: Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Quirrel was fun to tease." Charlotte said with a reminiscent shrug.

Cedric gave her a look. "Third Year: Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Charlotte gave _him_ a look. "If I wouldn't have gotten in trouble for dating my professors, I would have dated Lockhart."

Cedric rolled his eyes at her. "And this year, Fourth Year: Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Have you _seen_ R.J.?" Charlotte exclaimed and then she giggled. "He and I are going to get married and name our children Gemma and Franklin."

Cedric gaped at her as she started to giggle uncontrollably and start to daydream standing right next to him in the corridor. It would have been the _perfect_ time to tell her he had a crush on her—had she not just listed off men she liked…and her intentions to bear Lupin's children. He decided to just shake it off and run with his _original_ point here anyway—Charlotte had a habit of always being late from _Defense Against the Dark Arts_.

"All you've done is _prove_ my point." Cedric told her with a shrug.

Charlotte shook her head. "There's one more class I come late out of _every_ year, Ceddy."

"What?" Cedric asked her and then he nodded suddenly when the realization hit him as she nodded at him until he got it. "I'm kind of scared to know why you come out of Potions late, Charlie."

"Snape's sexy." Charlotte said with a shrug, licking her finger and making a hissing steam noise when she placed that finger on her butt. "Just saying."

Cedric shook his head and laughed a little as they walked to their next class. "I don't know why I'm even friends with you."

"It's my boobs." Charlotte told him, nodding matter-a-factly.

xxxxx

"Why does Draco keep staring at you?" Luna asked as she and Leena walked into the Great Hall for lunch.

"Maybe he thinks I'm cute." Leena giggled.

"That's hard to believe considering he sends you letters that say he hates you." Luna replied.

"I don't know. If he decides to waste trees I think he likes you. I mean, why take the time to write letters about how much you hate someone? Who does that?"

"Hi Rae."

"Hello Luna. I was wondering if you happened to have an extra copy of this week's Quibbler. Mine seems to have disappeared." Rae chirped enthusiastically, putting her arms around Leena and Luna's shoulders.

"I always have an extra." Luna said dreamily.

"Rae, where did you come from and how much did you hear?" Leena asked, startled.

"Ninja's work in mysterious ways, and I heard everything. I mean, seriously; do I write Zacharias letters saying I hate him? No, because I like the environment. In 5 thousand years when we have no Earth, I know who's to blame."

Leena rolled her eyes and turned back to Luna. "I was kidding. I have no idea why he's staring at me."

"Guess then." Luna replied as they got to their House table.

"What am I? Last week's potato salad?" Rae asked. "Fine. The Potato Salad Ninja knows when she's not wanted."

"Then I think it's because we've known each other since we were little or he has a stupid thought that he must let out." Leena responded laughing as Draco got up from the Slytherin table and Rae stomped off in a huff. "I hope he doesn't come over."

"Oh, look I came over. What are you laughing about?" Draco asked a little irritated.

"How stupid you are." Leena answered honestly. "What are you doing over here? You hate me."

Draco sneered. "I'm smarter then you are, you filthy little munter."

Leena clenched her fists and stood from the table. She couldn't take this any more! What was his problem with her? She'd never done anything to deserve this. Unable to control herself any longer, Leena punched Draco with all the strength she could muster.

"Drop dead scumbag." Leena said, clutching her right hand as it seared with pain.

Leena left the Great Hall in a foul mood and headed straight for the hospital wing. Fuming, she told Madame Pomfrey everything that happened and then waited for Madame Pomfrey to come back with everything she needed to fix her hand. A few seconds later, Blaise walked in with Luna following.

"What the Hell were you thinking!" Blaise yelled.

"He's rude and insulted me. I had every right to hit him." Leena answered irritated, trying not to move her hand so much.

"You knew that you weren't supposed to do that. You know that I'm the one who's getting in trouble for this." Blaise yelled back.

"Then tell him to leave me the Hell alone before I make him!" Leena yelled.

"Calm down Leena. Blaise just wants to make sure that you're all right." Luna said calmly.

"Luna's got a point." Blaise responded a little less angry.

Leena sighed and simply nodded. At least Madame Pomfrey could heal broken bones in a heartbeat so she could punch Draco as soon as he got on her nerves again, which knowing him, was bound to happen.

"_So why am I in the hospital?" An eight-year-old Leena asked._

"_Because the doctors are running test to make sure you're all right." Ethan answered._

"_What's wrong with me?" Leena asked._

"_You've just gone through surgery. The doctors just want to make sure that all the internal bleeding has stopped and tumors are gone. The tests are to see if you've got cancer." Kara answered._

"_How long am I to be here?" Leena asked._

"_A few days." Ethan answered._

"_Blaise?" Leena asked._

"_Yes?" Blaise replied._

"_How are you?" Leena asked._

"_I'm glad that you're going to be well." Blaise answered._

"_You're worried about me." Leena asked_

"_You're my sister. Of course I'm worried about you." Blaise replied._

"_You really don't have to worry. I'll be fine." Leena asked_

_Blaise nodded and smiled. Kara and Ethan actually held hands, and then the doctor came in._

"_It's good to see that you're awake." The doctor said. "Just so you all know, Leena is going to be fine. The internal bleeding has stopped and all the tumors are out. You'll be able to take her home in 48 hours. We want to make sure that the bleeding doesn't come back._

"_Works for me. Now everyone relax please." Leena replied smiling._

"Good afternoon, Leena. Just thought you should know that you deserved the detention you have from Professor Snape. Buhbye now." Rae said, popping into the hospital wing.

"What?" Rae!" Leena cried. "Come back here!"

"NO! I'm not talking to you!" Rae called, never turning back.

"You just did!" Leena replied.

Rae threw her hands in the air as she ran away and Madame Pomfrey came from her office to see what the commotion was.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Blaise asked.

"Nothing. Rae's just a ninja." Leena answered.

xxxxx

Tyler sat in the Gryffindor Common Room doing his Charms homework so that he could have it done before dinner that night. He wanted to sit next to Harry at dinner since everyone knew that they were friends, but he knew that he and Harry had a hard time _not _looking like more than that sometimes when they were in close vicinities, so he'd be sitting with Neville, Dean and Seamus instead while Harry sat with Ron and Hermione. Thinking about Harry, Tyler looked up from his parchment and he and Harry kept shooting furtive glances at each other from across the room.

"Hermione, can you come over here and help me with this for a second?" Tyler called across the room to her, trying to make it look like he needed Hermione and wasn't checking Harry out at all.

"Hold on." Hermione called back absent-mindedly.

Hermione had taken on quite a load of classes this year, and was half buried under a pile of books and half filled parchments, thus having to disentangle herself from them before making her way over to where Tyler, Dean, Seamus, and Neville sat. Even though Dean, Seamus and Neville weren't really focused on their work, Hermione knew that Tyler took his schoolwork seriously, and was always willing to lend him a hand—after all, he was the only boy she knew that she could tell _anything_ to.

"Does this paragraph make any sense to you? I think I screwed it up." Tyler asked her pointing to a spot on the parchment.

Hermione took the paper from him and scanned the paragraph. "Well this sentence could make more sense but honestly it's not the _worst _paper I've ever read. What in bloody Hell is this paragraph up here?"

Tyler laughed because he knew she meant Ron's shotty work. "Oh really? For the record, Herm, I didn't ask you to read that part."

Hermione ignored him her eyes scanning the page some more. "This paragraph is completely wrong. What are you doing over here? Daydreaming? Normally your essays are much more factually sound—"

"—that's enough thanks." Tyler told her, and snatched the piece of parchment away from her, shooting her a look. "You're not my professor, so you can chill out, thank you."

"You really should change that—" Hermione began only to have Tyler cut her off.

"—Professor Flitwick doesn't really read it, so I don't really care." Tyler said sticking his tongue out and then shooing her away with a gesture from his hand. "You may leave me now."

Hermione then slapped his arm playfully and returned to her large pile of books as Tyler laughed—she was the only girl who actually cared about the scholar in him and he appreciated her for it. Tyler rubbed his arm, and glanced at Harry one last time, before he shoved the roll of parchment in his book bag, indicating to Dean, Neville, and Seamus that he was ready for food. The other three boys happily shoved their homework aside and followed him out of the portrait, knowing that they still had time to do their homework later.

Tyler chuckled because he knew that there weren't many Gryffindors that actually _cared _about being scholarly—that was the _Ravenclaws_' forte. The Gryffindors simply tried to win all the awards, the Slytherins tried to get away with the bare minimum—except Charlotte who was actually surprisingly a genius—and the Hufflepuffs were like the morale officers. Almost as if on cue while he was contemplating the roles of the Houses, the moment that Tyler walked into the Great Hall, he was practically mauled by Rae, who was suddenly at his side and practically shoving the other Gryffindor boys out of the way to make room for herself.

"Tyler, Leena's treating me like last week's potato salad still." Rae whined, holding his right arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

Tyler grimaced at the hold. "What the f—"

"—Rae, I am not." Leena protested clutching Tyler's other arm

"You _were_! All I did was offer my opinion and you completely ignored it!" Rae cried, leaning across Tyler.

Leena made a face. "Rae, that was at lunch! Can't you just let it go?"

Seamus, Dean and Neville, eyed the two girls appreciatively—they didn't mind hanging out with Tyler because he was almost always with three cute girls…come to think of it…where _was_ Charlotte? Tyler extricated himself from the grips of Rae and Leena and motioned to his guy friends to follow him as he turned back to the girls.

"You may want to move out of the way of the entrance. No one can get past you." Tyler told them and then he smirked.

"Is he calling us fat?" Leena asked disconcertedly as Tyler turned on his heels and went on his way.

At that moment, Charlotte came into the Great Hall with Cedric, and after a quick swat to his butt, Cedric laughed and headed for his table and Charlotte grinned and made a beeline for the Gryffindor table. Marcus and Macey were making faces as Rae and Leena went about their business at their tables, Tyler sitting down across from Harry. Harry looked at Tyler and smiled at him even though he was a little jealous about how close Tyler seemed to the girls that he hung out with. Tyler sent him a reassuring smile though because he knew what Harry was thinking, and he was so certain that since the first time Harry had spoken to him, he and Harry were going to be together no matter what happened between them.

_Tyler sat down next to Harry during the second week of their first year of Hogwarts, and Harry smiled at him. He had already known for a couple of years that he was into other men, and he'd been attracted to Harry since day one. It honestly had __**nothing**__ to do with Harry being 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' either…Harry was just charming, kind, and attractive._

"_Do you need any help?" Tyler asked Harry._

_Harry blushed a little and looked at him. "Um…I think I got it…swish and flick, right?"_

"_Well yeah, swish and flick, but you also gotta know the spell." Tyler explained to him._

"_Did Hermione teach you this?" Harry asked him slowly._

_Tyler laughed a little—he knew that everyone wondered why he was hanging out with the know-it-all, but truth be told, Tyler __**adored**__ Hermione. Actually, had he been straight, he would try to sweep her off of her feet, but he just wasn't into girls…he just pretended that he was. Still, he would __**never**__ use Hermione like that…he liked her far too much, and she was his best friend…and he was hers._

"_Hermione is intense, but she's sweet—and no, I pick things up just as quickly as she does." Tyler admitted with a nod._

_Harry looked into Tyler's eyes and Tyler was immediately smitten. "All right, Tyler…show me how it goes?"_

Tyler smiled a little to himself as he thought of his first conversation with Harry, and then he felt himself flushing crimson when female arms wrapped around him. It was the most inopportune moment for Charlotte to drape herself around him, because not only was he sitting across from Harry, but she was supposed to be at _her _table. Slytherins weren't supposed to hang out with Gryffindors…especially not in the Great Hall during meal times.

"Good evening, Mr. Flaming Homo." Charlotte chirped, kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly. "I hope your day was fun."

Tyler turned bright red and Harry ducked his head and blushed at the interaction—not only was she calling Tyler out in front of all of their friends, but she was showering him with affection…Harry didn't like that at _all_. Charlotte grinned when Tyler shifted uncomfortably and her eyes rested on Harry. At first she wasn't going to say anything, but her 'Gaydar' was going off, and talking to Harry and Tyler was better than making fun of Lavender Brown for the night.

"And Ty, who's your Homo friend? He's cute. You should totally date him." Charlotte said, grinning when Harry's head snapped up and he glared at her. "Now, have a good dinner and don't forget to pray to the Gods of Quidditch—they're the only ones who can help you now."

Marcus stood up at the Slytherin table. "Char! Get over here and stop fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Oh shut-up, Marcus! Don't yell at me! You _know _who my father is!" Charlotte yelled back, and though Tyler was upset that he couldn't stand up for himself and that Harry looked pissed at what Charlotte had said, he was glad when she bounded over to the Slytherin table and smacked Marcus upside the head…he was going to have to explain this to Harry and fast.

xxxxx


End file.
